Buy just about anything in quantity or bulk, and you save per item. That’s the concept behind Costco, Sam’s Club and others. When it comes to taxes though, the more you make the higher the rate you pay. That’s why there are so many deductions in the code to offset it.

A person making $30,000 a year at 10% tax would pay $3,000. The person making $300,000 per year at 10% would pay $30,000 in taxes – 10 times more tax. Of course, their rate is actually higher than 10%. The person making $3,000,000 in this oversimplified example would pay $300,000; 100 times the person making $30,000! So where’s the discount??? There is none in the income tax. The higher income person is likely paying at the 35% rate or 39% if the “Bush tax cuts” expire. So, they’re already paying their fair share. Plus, deductions phase out the more income you have.

Republicans fail to articulate how small businesses pay at the regular income tax rate: many are S-Corps, Partnerships or LLCs. For those businesses, any profit is reported on K-1s as income to be included in the personal returns of the owners on Schedule E. That income then comes right to the front of the 1040 on line 17. There it’s taxed at their regular income tax rate.

True, qualified dividends – the source of income for many of the wealthy – are taxed at 15% right now. But, that was income to C Corporations that paid taxes at the corporate rate on those earnings. They distribute the money to shareholders and get a deduction for it. Then it’s taxed on the recipients’ individual returns a second time.

Bottom line: the tax code is a bloated mess. Our Government turns out 80,000 new pages of regulations in the Federal Register every year affecting businesses. Don’t we have enough already?

I don’t want to hear about rich people paying their fair share. They already do. Instead of trying to buy votes by blaming the rich, let’s aspire to earn what they earned. That is the true American Dream: do we fault Bill Gates or Steve Jobs for their incredible success? How many people did they employ and empower. We should be encouraging people to achieve more, not making them feel it’s hopeless.